Grand final jackpot: Why James Tedesco is the $1575 man
Sydney Roosters superstar James Tedesco is on the verge of creating a rugby league first on Sunday night if he can claim the coveted Clive Churchill Medal in the decider against Canberra.
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It’s rugby league’s version of grand final Lotto.
James Tedesco can hit the jackpot by becoming the first player in NRL history to achieve the game’s ultimate trifecta.
Having already secured the Wally Lewis Medal as State of Origin’s player of this year’s series and the Dally M Medal last Wednesday night as the game’s best player, Tedesco can collect the revered Clive Churchill Medal against Canberra on Sunday night with a man-of-the-match performance.
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The odds of Tedesco achieving the triple treat have been valued for The Sunday Telegraph by the TAB at $1575 to 1.
The “dummy” odds are a combination of Tedesco’s TAB prices for each of the best individual gongs in the game.
The Roosters fullback’s Wally Lewis Medal ($7) and Dally M Medal ($15) prices were taken from before round one this season and then combined with the $15 price he was installed at to win the Clive Churchill Medal when the markets opened prior to round 24.
Since the introduction of the Wally Lewis Medal in 2003, no player has won all three gongs in the same season. Peter Sterling (1986) and Johnathan Thurston (2015) are the only two players to have won the Dally M and Clive Churchill medals in the same season.
What Tedesco has achieved in 2019 has stunned many, including Roosters captain Boyd Cordner.
But his coach Trent Robinson has challenged the world’s best No.1 to show everyone on Sunday night why he’s the best player on the field.
“There’s always better and he can get better,’’ Robinson said.
“I think he proved it (at the Dally Ms), but he’s got to prove it one more time (Sunday) that he’s the best player in the game this year.’’
Cordner is in awe of his teammate.
“I love Teddy,’’ he said. “He’s such a great player, we can all see that.
“The year that he had last year was amazing and to think this year he can top that, it’s pretty mind blowing.
LISTEN! In the season finale, Matty Johns is joined by James Hooper and Paul Kent to go over this Sunday’s grand final, plus how the build-up to the NRL’s biggest weekend can weigh on the favoured team (and how the Roosters are counteracting it!).
“You see all the flashy stuff, but us as a team, we respect what he does off the ball and in defence especially.’’
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart conceded his side would be on high alert to dull the impact of the most damaging open-field runner in the league.
“We’d like to think if we’re good, we can stop a lot of his play,,’’ Stuart said. “But you’re not going to stop all of his contribution.
“He has a lot of input into their sets of six and if you knock off for a play, he’s going to get you.’’